1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a driver plate for a torsion-suspended clutch plate of a motor vehicle friction clutch as well as to a method for producing such a driver plate.
2. The Prior Art
Conventional clutch plates of motor vehicle friction clutches usually have a hub which is centered in relation to the axis of rotation of the clutch and which can be connected, fixed against relative rotation, to a gear input shaft. A driver plate is seated on the hub so as to be rotatable over a limited relative angle of rotation and to support the friction linings of the clutch disk. The driver plate is connected with the hub in a rotationally elastic manner via springs of a torsion spring system. Torsion vibration dampers which make possible such a torsion spring action are also known and comprise at least several disks arranged next to each other on the same axis, which disks receive the springs of the torsion spring system in windows that are aligned axially with respect to each other. In conventional structures of torsion vibration dampers, the springs are disposed at the one end in the windows of two outer disk parts, which are connected to form a unit, and at the other end on a central disk part disposed between the two outer disk parts and rotatable in relation to them. The driver plate in this case forms one of the two outer disk parts or the central disk part.
DE-A-3 436 583 (GB-A-2 165 323) discloses a driver plate for a torsion-suspended clutch disk which has a substantially annular disk-shaped lining support disposed around the axis of rotation for attachment of the friction lining and a substantially annular disk-shaped reinforcement part which is centered in relation to the axis of rotation and has a plurality of windows distributed in the circumferential direction to receive the springs of the torsion spring system. Radially outside of the area of the windows, the reinforcement part has a centering edge of circular shape against which the lining support rests with a radially inner edge that substantially conforms to the circular shape of the centering edge. The lining support is welded to the reinforcement part along this contact edge. Such a construction is advantageous because of the possibility of producing the lining support and the reinforcement part separately and of designing them in accordance with their respective requirements. Also, the operating properties of such a driver plate generally meet the requirements. On the other hand, in the driver plate known from DE-A-34 36 583, the lining support is a comparatively large, one-piece component which can be produced only with a comparatively large amount of waste, for example, from its radially inner area.